Secondary battery



(No Model.)

J. DU SHANE.

SECONDARY BATTERY,

Patented June 16, 1885 awk WWW ATTORNEY NITED STATES SECONDARY BATTERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 320,232, dated June 16,1885.

Application filed July 26, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES DU SHANE, of South Bend, in the county of St. Joseph and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Secondary Batteries; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description there of, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in storage or secondary batteries; and it has for its object to provide an improved electrode for the same, which will afford a large area for the comminuted or granulated metal or formative material, and thus provide for increased capacities of the battery, as more fully hereinafter specified. These objects I attain by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a longitudinalsectional view of an electrode constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the electrode, and Fig. 3 a top view showing a battery composed of a series of such electrodes as arranged for use. Fig. 4 represents a side elevation of the lower pinched or welded closed end of the electrode.

The letter A indicates a tube of lead, which may be of any suitable dimensions, and which is provided with lateral perforations B, leading to the interior, in order to give free access to liquid with which the battery is to be charged. The said tube on its exterior is spirally threaded or formed with a series of deep depressions, E, which may be filled with the granulated metal, metallic salt, or formative material, and which will hold it in place securely without other supporting material. The interior of the tube may also be filled with finely-divided metal, metallic salt, or formative material to which the acid or other sol 11- tion with which the battery is charged may have ready access through the lateral perform tions B. The tubes are cylindrical in form, so that the grooves may be conveniently produced, as follows: I form the depressions by means of a sharp cutting-tool of such shape as to not only cut into the body of the tube, but to upset the metal of the tube, so as to turn the cut edges away from each other or separate them, and thus increase the holding ca pacity of the spaces or sp' 'al pockets. This operation of cutting or forming the depressions on the tube is most conveniently effected by setting the tube between the centers of a screw cutting lathe, and fastening the cutting-tool to the slide-rest, and gearing the parts so as to give the leading-screw and centers, respectively, the proper speed to give the desired pitch to the spiral grooves. By feeding the tool inward the depressions may be made as deep as desired, thus leaving intact asolid cylindrical core or backing of metal. Other means, however, may be employed for forming the grooves without departing from the spirit of my invention, as is evident. The lower end of the tube is closed by pinching or cold welding the parts together, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, which is a convenient and inexpensive means of effecting such purpose and involves no waste of metal. It will be observed that as thus constructed no metal is removed from the tube, and hence there is no waste either of material or timein forming the gooves, and that the intact portion of the tube serves as a support to the laminte or leaves forming the pockets, effectually obviating any tendency to the buckling or breaking down of the electrode. As before stated, the central opening of the tube may be filled with formative material, thus greatly increasing the capacity of the electrode. It will be further observed that said tube is formed with a series of deep depressions, E, running circmnferentially or spirally about its exterior.

They expose a larger surface to the action of the current, and they as well as the interior of the tube after closing one end may be filled with finely divided lead or other formative material, to which the electrolytic fluid may have access through the lateral perforations.

By making the electrode cylindrical the spiral grooves can be cheaply formed by turning, and as no metal is removed during the operation the body of the elect-rode is con densed or compressed, so as to better support the formative i'natcrial. By compressing the end of the grooved tube it is effectually closed, forming a superior and cheaper electrode than has been secured by the ordinary methods of construction.

The formative material may be that usually IOC employed, or any other that may prove desirable, and the charging-liquid may be dilute sulphuric acid or other approved solution. The electrodes may be aggregated as shown in Fig. 3, and connected, forming a battery as usual. 7

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. An electrode for storage or secondary batteries, consisting of a tube of suitable material having a spiral groove formed around its outside by cutting into and upsetting the metal, substantially as specified.

2. An electrode forstorage or secondary batteries, consisting of a tube of suitable material having a spiral groove around its outside, formed by cutting and compressing the metal,

and lateral perforations, substantially as specified.

3. An electrode for storage batteries, consisting of a metallic tube having a spiral groove around the outside and lateral perforations JAMES DU SHANE.

\Vitnesses:

WALTER A. FUNK, XVrLLIs A. BUGBEE. 

